Customer Reviews

Inner Revolution

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Reviews of this book are divided by whether the reader agrees with Thurman's politics. That's not a book review. If you agree that the wealth and happiness of every person depends upon the whole of human history and existence, and that we are all equally responsible for and connected to each other and the planet, then you will agree with the author. If you believe it's everyone for himself (I choose my pronoun deliberately) based on rugged individual talent existing all by itself and making gains at the expense of who and whatever is in the way, then you probably won't. In either case, this book is a thoughtful and humorous presentation of Buddhist philosophy as it may be applied to everyday western life, and the section on how to effect change is worth reading. In fact, it's worth reading this book just to be inspired to visualize the kind of world we could create, if we didn't each think "this whole party is for us."

Showing my hand, first, I studied religion under Thurman as an undergraduate at Columbia. Nevertheless, both sets of reviews (they seem on here to be divsible into two camps) have grains of truth to them; some, to me, seem a little too hero-worshipping (either of the man or of the Dharma) and others a little bit too harsh (crushing Thurman for the inclusion of a political agenda in this work)....

First, this was meant to be a popular, non-academic book and not a treatise entirely on the history of Tibet or an analysis of its culture. Thurman's 'Central Philosophy of Tibet' is near as dry and distant as books come; he had a reputation as a translator before he had one as a popularizer. Which no doubt he is-- his hand is laid bare in the fact that he's chosen to spend his life educating people in the West of Dharma, of trying to protect and help the Tibetan people (whom he thinks were special, unique, and good....), and achieve some kind of an enlightened polity....

He IS trying to change the world with this book. Necessarily, when you introduce a child to America, you don't always tell ALL of the truth (which is a tough thing to do anyway); when you teach a child about Christianity, you tell of the Gospels and NOT of Revelations, the anti-Semitism of Luther, or the excesses of many of the Popes-- and no one says that these are bad things. Thurman is introducing a culture and an idea-- him having been a monk it's going to be a bit of a polemic (which if you ever read a lot about Tibet most of it is.... strangely only excluding much of what the Dalai Lama has written..... and 'The Dragon in the Land of Snows'-- a history of Tibet...) It's preachy and it is a polemic.....

Perhaps the book would have been left better off without the political agenda added at the end. You could say that it helps people to think about WHAT would be good; how could they change their world toward some kind of Shambala BUT it provides a huge way for people to slam this text.

Buy this if you want (albeit a bit polemical) an introduction into Buddhism and what went on in Tibet-- it's a fun, easy read. It's worth your time. Then, though, read other books.... to find out more.... cause this one in places IS NOT a strict, hard, grey work of 'Truth'....

I believe all critic is but a glimpse on how one grasps the world, and in this, I mean we perceive a split image and tainted with our own personal baggage. Some fine things have been said about the author, about politics and about the author's personality, yet very little has been said about the work: the book.

This is perhaps one of the finest books to shed light in the dilema of the individual in a complex social matrix and its struggles to break free and achieve some sort of personal mission or calling. The book makes an excellent bridge, analyzing planetary history, describing moments in which the collective need to create new ways to experience and understand, catapulted the planet into a new frequency of understanding; this described in terms of an Axial period in History. Thurman's ability to describe and phrase the very nature of Ego and what we all have collectively come to call "personality" is fascinating. The importance of this book is in its capacity to present a diagnosis of our era and the very things that have held us back: meaning that human beings have a mission or pursuit, that of being happy, of being a better human being and with this intention he is also saying that we, as a society (and very much so the society in power) have created a fractured and very little avenue for human kind to experience itself in a dimension beyond suffering.

I can not understand why there is criticism on the book being political, since we all respond to structures of rule and power, if the possibility of all beings achieving happiness is not on our politicians agenda, then who are the serving? Whose interest is it?

Inner Revolution is an invitation to remind us of our Human right to achieve happiness for oneself, others and the planet at large. It is a door to glimpse beyond that which we have all in a way forgotten: the freedom to pursue our true nature.

Robert Thurman, being the first Westerner to be ordained as a Tibetan monk, has precedent to speak about eastern philosophy like no other American. That said, when I was looking for a connection between eastern philosophy and the world that I live in, Thurman seemed like the best ambassador. This book is largely a history lesson of the last 2,000 years of buddhist philosophy and its stark contrast to its materialistic counterpart lifestyle (capitolism). You're likely to read a lot of hugely profound things in this book, and learn a lot about the history of buddhism from Asoka to Shakyamuni. What I liked best about this book was Thurmans ability to deftly jump from practical contemporary literature to illuminating thousands of years of tradition. Highly recommended!

Robert Thurman is indeed a controversial academic figure in that he is amazingly dedicated to the Buddhist way and is no-holds barred excited about what he talks and writes of. I have seen Professor Thurman speak - he is an experience. What is best and perhaps most disturbing about his writing/speaking is his extraordinary attachment to myth as the main teaching tool for Tibetan Buddhist principles, and history. The Inner Revolution is a fine example of his unique style and presentation of ideas. There are many books on Buddhism that can leave a reader high and dry, and grasping for anything material, this is not one of them. The Inner Revolution present a refreshing history of Buddhism's political successes in Indian and early Tibetan societies, its transforming character, and an authentic vision of the world altering Tibetan Buddhist belief system (and one wonderful poem).

The last chapter of the Inner Revolution includes ten methods by which to alter the world, changing the material universe into a "Buddha-verse." These transforming ideas may leave readers a little uncomfortable, myself included, but modifying the world from the inside out can do that.

I think of Inner Revolution as accessible Thurman, and a good place to start if one desires knowledge of the Tibetan Buddhist system or the book's author. I enjoyed and highly recommend this book.

If you have comments or would like to discuss Tibet, or refugee communities please contact me. Thanks.

I loved this book and read it in one sitting on New Years. It is a wonderful combination of the story of a personal search, the central tenets of Buddhism, and a semi-objective religious and historical context for the development of Buddhism.

I have two criticisms of this book.

First, the historical context, while helpful, is hard to view as objective. In particular, Thurman's idealization of Tibet as the only place on Earth to have realized the fruitional stage of societal enlightenment sounds appealing, but is hard for me to believe without more information.

Second, Thurman appeals to many of the modern (materialistic) versions of science, in particular drawing concepts from physics, medicine, and biology to justify Buddhist conclusions and teachings. While I am not able to speak to his interpretation of quantum and subatomic physics, his discussion of biological and neurological concepts seems to gloss over many subtleties... rather than ring like true science, it seems misunderstood and unintentionally twisted. This is ironic, since Thurman laments the misunderstanding of Buddhism by early Western scholars.

It would be wonderful if someone like Thurman could get together with a competent science writer and a spiritual source from Buddhism like the Dalai Lama or Thich Nhat Hanh and follow up on the shortcomings of this book with a synthesis that will help build the Western following Thurman advocates.

Prof. Thurman writes a book which can only be the product of a lifetime of experience. He first sets upon a task I had yet to see successfully achieved: an accurate description of how one proves to oneself the non-existence of the ego and the self, accessible for the layperson. This kind of superb writing can only come from an individual with long years of true practice and reflection. He then draws a remarkable chart of the progess of civilization as we know it. Finally, these two threads are masterfully woven together as Prof. Thurman shows us how the principle of enlightenment could be applied in our present society. It was very refreshing and encouraging to read such a spiritual view of our history, one that does not resort to metaphysics or unintelligible mysticism. Prof. Thurman's work stands as both socio-political philosophy and spiritual philosophy, achieving a fusion with a vitality and relevance of its own

The Inner Revolution is a helpful aid to the individual. It urges us to search for that "I" beyond the senses. This might be a hard process when your essentially telling yourself to find yourself. But its really telling "yourself" to find your true Self. Once you've been enlightened and seen who you really are behind the external descriptions (and even challenge Descartes' "I think, therefore I am"), only then will you see yourself as one with all of life, rather than your own sensory awareness standing alone against the material world of other sentient beings who possess isolated realities. Whenever a reaction occurs to something as a thought in your mind, even that is usually not your true Self. Your spontaneous thoughts belong to a pool of the actions of people that you experience most in your life- friends, family, peers, etc. When you quickly come up with a response, that originated from hearing it somewhere else. It is key that we have the proper insight of interconnectedness to generate compassion towards all. Therefore, the woes of society must begin with the Self, and cannot be fixed by mending the external features. As Shantideva's shoe-leather analogy expounds, "Who doesn't want to hurt his feet when he walks the rough and brambly earth has two choices; either cover the earth with leather or make himself a pair of sandals." When we come to the realization of truth, we wish to bring that enlightenment to all others. This is the only hope, what he terms as a 'buddhaverse', to ending the sufferings which we inflict on one another. This book is also helpful in destroying the negative misconception of the Buddha's teachings. Some people seem to think it is a philosophy of total apathy. Quite the opposite, rather it believes that perfection comes from the self up (to the whole) and not the other way around. Ascetism can be as dangerous as hedonism. Buddhism finds the middle way with only what is ultimately important. When the interconnected beings are enlightened, then there shall be true Unity. And this is feasible because he doesn't identify enlightenment as an esoteric state of mysticism, but awareness of complete reality, that is for everyone.

Above is what I personally gained from "The Inner Revolution". However since it has to do with all peoples as well as your own self, there is alot of political material present as well. But, as I have said, such should come after enlightenment of the Self.

Travelling inward is not an easy task. The road to understanding spirituality and its "modern" application has sparked a mass of simplistic, superficial books and the creation of the "Religion and Spirituality" genre. Robert Thurman's Inner Revolution challenges us and the confines of the society we live in today by recounting Tibetan Buddhism and its practice and by giving us insight into Tibetan Buddhist history and development, allows us to reach a deeeper understanding of our own spirituality.

Cheers to his thoughts and many blessings to the greater being that has allowed this westerner to come into the light.

Bob Thurman is such a treasure in the literature of modern Buddhism that we shall probably wait until he's gone before we take notice. 'Revolution' speaks of his 'Cold' revolution theories and how little we realize about what we can actually attain as Buddhists, Americans ...people. The indexed entries at the rear of the book are so thought provoking they require an intensive solitude to digest them and find how applicable each one is in our own lives. More wonderful work from a truly understanding buddhist scholar of our time. The audio lectures that coincide with the book are a great supplement and ease the retention of the material.